Funding shortfall

You may know that I am a mentor. Through a welfare organisation called Good Shepherd, I, and other like minded volunteers in the MOOOV program provide a stable adult presence for around 50 disadvantaged young people. Or at least, we did. Today we have had it confirmed that our program is out of funding, both from philanthropic partners and the government. The program has no choice; it is selecting which mentoring matches are to be terminated immediately, and then phasing out all other matches.



This is such a huge disappointment. The program funds the volunteers to meet up with their young person and just 'hang out' for a minimum of an hour a week. Quite often mentors spend a lot more time than this (especially if you count travel time and costs, which are the mentors own costs). But in the end, the benefits are so great that no-one begrudges the time they have put into this fantastic program; seeing these kids, who've seen too much of life's negativities, blossom into confident and happier young people is such an incredible reward.



Our kids in the program come from a range of difficult situations; poverty, foster care, refugees, school refusers, substance abuse, personal abuse. These young people have seen more of the dark side of life than many lucky adults will experience in their whole lifetime. These kids have learned not to trust adults, to only rely on themselves, to disconnect from a society that has harmed them. Through valuable programs like MOOOV, we help them to plug back into the mainstream, and look forward to their own futures. And now, due to a lack of funds, these kids are likely to find themselves back on society's trash heap.



Sadly, mentoring is not a focus for our current government. They're focused on band aid solutions, like Juvenile Justice, but haven't the inclination to look at the source of the wound. So much can be done by helping kids gain the confidence to pull themselves up out of grim situations before they become dire situations that lead to darker cycles.



If you know anyone in government, in companies interested in financially supporting a charity, or in media, please help to promote our excellent cause. Expressions of funding interest, and all communications should be directed to Sue Parkes, Communications Manager at Good Shepherd, on 03 9418 3000.

I don't like Mondays

I just KNEW today would be messy. Despite the extra day of weekend, I didn't get enough work done (again), therefore needing to stay up fairly late to do some more marking and feel more fulfilled. Extra early morning, to get in to school and make up for what I didn't prepare over the weekend... hectic, but doable. Pity I knocked over and broke my bedside lamp in the extra-early darkness- I wonder if superglue can fix that, or if the heat of the light would just melt it all over again? Hmm.

I had felt sluggish all weekend, not helped by the fact that I can't wear most of my shoes, because I got stiletto stabbed in the foot at the formal, and my shoes all seem to rub that spot. So no shoes = no exercise + no orthotics = fat and sore Naomi. Still on ill fitting shoes today. Not good, but workable.

As I zoomed out the door, realising I'd actually intended to leave about 20 minutes earlier (should have just slept longer, I guess), I was confronted with my open car bonnet. That's right, the car inexplicably overheated last night. Gurgled some water into the radiator and headed out... slowly... and noisily... and, as the trip progressed, steamily... Overheating again. I prayed to the saint of roads and radiators and steam and traffic lights and explosions and personal protection to please get me to school in one piece. Mission successful.

Feeling anxious at the thought of an exploding car, no way of getting to school without my car, and also the impending cost of repairs, I wasted my extra preparation time on the phone to various parties hoping to magically fix my car. Rocked into my first class and realised I was completely nauseous (anxiety or fumes? Who knows?). But hooray, they were pretty good, and I survived my following classes too without too much hassle.

The drive home was a terrifying prospect. I filled the car with as much water as she could drink, drove about five metres, realised the oil light had flashed on and pulled over to check it out. Bone dry, and strangely (considering the service and radiator core replacement she had four weeks ago) the oil cap was not on properly. I suspect maybe the oil fill I was charged for might not have been carried out? Again, who knows. Filled with all the oil I had, called the garage to change 'check in' from tomorrow morning to this afternoon and putted my pathetic, smokey way to the garage.

Conclusion? A blown head gasket. So now I'm looking at about $600 (not anywhere near as it could be, admittedly), 3 days carless (thank god for Sam driving by my area and being happy to give me a lift), and a bit more stress in my days. Yay.

And THAT is why I don't like Mondays. Thank goodness I've got a nice glass of wine to relieve the pressure :)

(Innocent bystander sangiovese merlot. Very nice)

Using my time wisely

I'm halfway through my holidays. So far I have marked this many essays/ workbooks: None. I have planned this many units for next term: None.

However...
I have seen this many movies at the cinema: Three
I have watched this many movies on DVD: Four
I have seen this many comedy shows: Four
I have been out to this many meals in restaurants: Three
I have been out for coffee/ cake this many times: Four
I have seen my mentee for this many hours: Eleven
I have had this many meals at someone else's house: Two
I have borrowed this many books from my local library: Three
I have been on this many picnics: One
I have eaten this many hotcross buns: Eight
I have eaten this much chocolate: Incalculable

Cinema

Oh my god, Paul Thomas Anderson is annoying. He makes me swear. A lot. Absolutely loved 'There will be blood' until the final scene. Then I swore non stop for approximately three days. In better cinematic news, saw 'Grindhouse' at the Astor as Tarantino intended; the whole double feature complete with shlocky previews and fake ads. I have not laughed so much in years. See it while The Astor is still showing it. With a group of friends. Who like horror. And 70s kitsch. Awesome.

DVDs

I have now seen the following: Waitress (Awesome, hilarious, quirky. Go you Felicity chick, and you Captain from Serenity); Bra Boys (like my VCAL boys, plus surf); Brokeback Mountain (wow, THAT was way more full on than I was expecting); Capote (how annoying that ALL of my local libraries are out of the novel 'In Cold Blood'. I really want to read it now); the first two episodes of Spaced (someone I know used the word 'Hilarious'. I'm waiting for that to kick in, cos right now, I'm not seeing it).

Comedy

Gotta love a night when you pay for one comedy show (Daniel Kitson, The Ballad of Roger and Grace. Very cute and amusing) and get a three for one ticket to another show (Geraldine Hickey, oh my god she is funny. Wrong, and bogan, but so so funny), a completely free show (Jimmy James Eaton in Eaton Alive, utterley hilarious. He really shouldn't have to bribe an audience in just because he's getting reviewed. Folks should be fighting for those tickets), and then get dropped another free ticket on your way out (The Great Myspace Emigration of 07. One word- meh. Glad I didn't pay for that!!!). Am also hoping to catch Andrew McClelland teaching people to be gentleman, Bec Hill discussing superhero-ly stuff, and Fiona O'Loughlin just being damned funny. But we'll see. Cash is somewhat restricted.

Foodie delights

Discovered (after it had had three writeups in The Age) an awesome coffee shop, Liar Liar in Hawthorn, which uses an unusual coffee making process to uncap distinct scents and flavours within the coffee. Served in a snifter, and delivering a lighter coloured brew with a long caffeine hit, the changing flavours emerge as the coffee cools. Also very excited to try a new churros bar on Brunswick St, Juanita's. Churros very good, although the chocolate is a bit sweet. South American style, rather than Spanish. Excellent chorizo empanada. Check it out.

Eating in

Yay Helen for hosting our communal candlit dinner for Earth Hour. Gorgeous vego food, good wine, great company followed by a pleasant stroll through the darkened city. The stroll back featured my VCAL boys. How amusing.

Books

Am currently reading: Anna Karenina by Tolstoy- I WILL finish this eventually; The Whisper of the Blade, I forget the author, about various revolutions throughout history; River of Gods by Ian McDonald- awesome sci fi writer, read all of his books, now. Am currently resisting: The curious incident of the dog in the night time; a couple of young adult fiction books I borrowed from the library. Have just finished: Wicked.

Easter

My favourite celebration of the year. Why do fruit buns taste so much better with a cross on them? Yum. And thank you to those who have accepted that I really WOULD rather have one expensive chocolate item rather than lots of cheap chocolate. Yum again.

Plans in black and white (to encourage me to achieve them)

- Give blood. Booked in tomorrow. This should happen.
- Don't complain when the service my car is booked in for turns up lots of faults; they are probably all genuine, and I should just hand over my Visa now. Smilingly.
- Make sure I actually get to the Indonesian grocers to try my hand at making rendang from scratch. I am quietly confident.
- Cross my fingers that either my brother picks up his kitten tomorrow, or that the kitten is willing to sleep in a cupboard throughout upcoming house inspection.
- Oh yeah. Marking, planning. Whatever.

Bubble bursts

I had a crack-it-moment today. It came on the back of an emotional afternoon, in which My Awesome Mentor told her VCAL boys she's leaving at the end of term, so I was already a tad brittle. Then there was a staff meeting at which it kind of hammered home to me that, even if I stuck out this incredibly hard year, with the boys being super-ratty, it is EXTREMELY likely I won't have a job. And then I cried at work. Ugh.

Here's the thing. Because the school was 'under threat', I could onl;y be offered a short term contract. They needed me, they wanted me to commit for the whole year, but they couldn't offer me ongoing status due to lack of enrolments (Apparently they could offer other people ongoing contracts, but that's another story). And now, despite knowingly and willingly re-entering the school during a really tough transition phase, I'm being told that the school can offer me the following in support: zilch. Because I am not an ongoing staff member.

I've known all along there were no guarantees. But to hear that at best the new school will be able to accomodate all the ongoing teachers (and it's highly unlikely we'll achieve such a 'best' outcome), and to realise that all the rhetoric about supporting each other is essentially a blast of hot, meaningless air... well that's pretty sucky, really.

So tonight I applied for a job, and expressed interest in some others. And I may or may not leave my school, even though I have made great friends there, and I really do like my feral boys and it would KILL me to leave them in the lurch. And if nothing comes through and I'm still at this school at the end of the year and fighting tooth and nail for a job somewhere, well, it's not like it's the first time I've joined the rat race. I just didn't really want to :(

Hot or Not

So I had a bit of a shock moment yesterday. Out of nowhere, I have become a Hot Teacher. I’m used to being a Nice Teacher, or being told I am a Cool Teacher, but Hot??? This is NOT a good thing.

I don’t know, maybe it was the outfit: Nothing short, Nothing cleavage-y; shirt dress, belt, boots, scarf in hair. Other teachers thought I looked nice; I had a whole heap of compliments on my outfit. All good. But then I got comments from my students.

The first was a throwaway line about my boots being made for walking. Yeah, that’s still ok. Then I got told I looked very nice, especially my hair. All of that was a bit weird, but still fine. But it was the LOOKS.

At previous schools, I have had boys with crushes on me. I even had a kid ask repeatedly if I’d marry him (I had to decline). But I have never felt like I was being Checked Out. Yesterday went up several levels from what I'm used to. Yesterday involved leering. Ugh.

There are days when teaching at a boys’ school feels like working in a zoo. On days like yesterday, it feels like a construction site, stopping just short of wolf whistles.

It may be completely unrelated that another student decided to try out a pick up line on me at recess. Apparently heaven is missing an angel. Sigh.